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A day before WWE Night of Champions, SmackDown emanates from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, later today. Ahead of the PLE, several WWE Superstars from both RAW and SmackDown are expected to be in attendance on tonight's show.
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis might have some last-minute decisions and stipulations to announce as the night unfolds. In this article, we will discuss five such directives that Aldis can issue, with major implications for Night of Champions and beyond:
#5. The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship could be vacated on SmackDown tonight
Liv Morgan is once again expected to be out of action, this time due to an injury. Suffering a dislocated shoulder early in her match against Kairi Sane last week on RAW, she is expected to be out for much longer than she was while filming for her recent movie project.
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Nonetheless, with Raquel Rodriguez the only active member among the Women's Tag Team Champions, an already stagnant division might completely come to a standstill if the title, rarely being defended anyway, is just completely forgotten. This could also come at the cost of Aldis' women's division on SmackDown. Therefore, these recent developments could very well compel Aldis to strip Morgan and Rodriguez of the Women's Tag Team Championship.
#4. Nick Aldis may announce a brand new tournament
The aforementioned development might lead to Nick Aldis and RAW GM Adam Pearce announcing a tournament for the vacant WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.
This might culminate at the Evolution PLE on July 13. Given the timeline, the tournament would need to be announced as soon as tonight, with Aldis himself simply announcing this after coming to an understanding with Adam Pearce.
Given that a lot of superstars from both brands will be around tonight, this may also possibly come as a reactionary announcement to some of the members of the division arguing about it or simply raising concerns.
#3. Nick Aldis could announce some major returns ahead of WWE Evolution
After seven long years, WWE Evolution is set to return to the calendar for only its second-ever edition. While WWE has no shortage of massive stars to make this event a massive success and certainly doesn't need to bring back legends, the PLE can serve as a good excuse to showcase some dream matches and alliances between the past, present, and future.
Two of these evergreen legends who can still hang with the best are Hall of Famers Lita and Trish Stratus. Aldis could announce either or both of these returns for either RAW or SmackDown next week. Who knows? Maybe these megastars could stay on past Evolution and stick around for the Road to the first-ever two-night SummerSlam.
#2. A major tag team match could be made official for tonight by Nick Aldis
Last Friday, fans saw Solo Sikoa try to bring back a rogue Jacob Fatu under his influence following the United States Champion's betrayal of his former self-proclaimed Tribal Chief at Money in the Bank. This was followed by Sikoa and his new muscle, JC Mateo, inflicting a brutal beatdown on The Samoan Werewolf during the segment. Surprisingly, Jimmy Uso then arrived to make the save for Fatu.
While Jacob is set to defend his title against Solo tomorrow at Night of Champions, we may get a preview of it tonight if Nick Aldis announces a tag team match, pitting Jimmy Uso and Jacob Fatu on one side and Solo Sikoa and JC Mateo on the other. Uso and Fatu's contentious relationship could especially make for some interesting television, and with Big Jim's eyes seemingly on the US Title, too, this may only be the beginning of a new chapter in The Bloodline saga.
#1. Nick Aldis could order "no physicality" between John Cena and CM Punk tonight
CM Punk is set to challenge John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions: Riyadh tomorrow night. Just one night removed from one of the biggest matches of the year, Nick Aldis could order "no physicality" during their expected face-off tonight.
Following last week's developments, Aldis will need to exercise some control to protect tomorrow's massive main event. This will also ensure that the WWE Universe witnesses one final uninhibited war of words between two of the best on the mic without the risk of it breaking down into a fight. It would also preserve the novelty of the Saudi crowd seeing John Cena and CM Punk get physical at Night of Champions.
